Senator backs law as written
Re: “Sen. Cornyn, Stick to Your Gun Reforms — Commonsense law he brokered should not be watered down,” Wednesday editorial.
The editorial board suggested that I’m backing away from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a law I authored in the wake of the tragic shooting in Uvalde. This law has saved lives and will continue to save lives. It’s a bipartisan success that I’m extremely proud of.
There are two key components of new laws: how they’re written by the legislative branch and how they’re implemented by the executive branch. Congress wrote and passed this legislation to invest in mental health, strengthen school safety and make extremely limited reforms to existing laws that protect public safety while upholding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans.
Here’s the rub: When it came to implementation, the Biden administration used these targeted provisions as the pretext to implement broader reforms that were flatly and repeatedly rejected by Congress when drafting and amending the law. In short, Congress gave an inch and the Biden administration took a mile.
When the administration overreaches like this, it poisons the well and makes it nearly impossible for Congress to solve the biggest issues facing our country. If the Biden administration ignored the letter of our law this time, what would stop it from doing the same for laws related to border security, immigration or crime?
I stand by the reforms in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, but I reject the Biden administration’s unconstitutional attempt to exploit this law in order to implement its radical gun control agenda counter to the will of Congress and the people who elected us.
I plan to offer a resolution in the Senate to overturn the administration’s new regulations, and I’m glad the state of Texas is leading the charge in taking this matter to the courts.
Sen. John Cornyn, Austin
Blow to children’s health care
Re: “Texas children face health care chaos — State’s decision to award area contracts to for-profit firms is questionable, disruptive,” by Rick W. Merrill, Wednesday Opinion.
I have been a pediatrician in Fort Worth since 1982 (private practice for 14 years, the medical director of the Cook’s Hospitalist group for 17 years). I still serve as a medical director for Cook’s Health Plan.
Texas Health and Humans Services’ decision to not renew Medicaid contracts to Cook Children’s Health Plan (and three of four other children’s health care systems associated with managed care organizations in Texas) is a travesty.
This is not about profits. CCHP is, essentially, a break-even business. CCHP medical directors have all been clinicians in Cook’s system. We are familiar with all of Cook’s providers requesting care coverage for their Medicaid patients. As such, our conversations tend to be constructive and collegial.
As a hospitalist asking for coverage, my experience was that medical directors of for-profit managed care organizations (many of which “won” recent contracts) had no pediatric training. It was often hard to convince them of the medical necessity of care we were suggesting for our patients.
Many, to me, seemed to have already made up their minds before our “peer to peer” call. Failure to convince them of the medical need would result in denial of coverage.
Texas HHS must reverse this error. Children across the state will suffer if this awful decision is left to stand.
Gary Bennett Strong, M.D., Fort Worth
Sad for Old City Park
Re: “Price tags on history — Its treasures are gone, but will Dallas realize Old City Park is one, too?” by Sharon Grigsby, Wednesday Metro & Business column.
I’m writing this letter with tears in my eyes. My husband, Lynn, and I got married at Old City Park 40 years ago with both sets of five children in attendance. It has taken decades to gather age-appropriate furniture to enhance the buildings moved there at great expense.
In Europe you have structures hundreds and thousands of years old. Here, if a building is barely old and still viable, it is often torn down in 15 minutes, so the new building matches the fast-food buildings.
So very sad. We also stayed at the wonderful old hotel next to Old City Park that is no longer there.
Lynnda Bass-Allen, Rockwall
Learn from Asian Americans
Re: “Fighting hate in COVID’s wake — North Texans meet darkness with light of outreach, positivity,” Wednesday news story.
Myriad contributions made by Asian Americans have historically been critically important to the continued economic, spiritual, artistic and cultural growth of the United States and the world.
The various people profiled in this story by Hojun Choi are a sampling of countless others who greatly enhance the American mosaic. I believe that those of us in the communications profession have a responsibility to search for outstanding individuals like those profiled and share their stories with our readers and our viewers.
No doubt, knowing and learning from their activities will further educate and enrich all of us!
Joseph Green-Bishop, Euless
Help refugees find safety
We’re all appropriately concerned for the safety of Gaza’s civilian population. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, over 6.5 million refugees have found safety in Europe and globally, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. Nearly 60% went to Poland alone.
Why haven’t Gaza’s civilians been able to do the same in neighboring nations? The U.S. should insist the United Nations Refugee Agency intervene with these countries to expedite refugees. Humanitarian aid could then find its way to those who need it quickly and safely.
Ken Sipiora, McKinney
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